Although sex and sexuality is
a taboo subject in many (Muslim) societies and often strictly regulated in Muslim
laws, some scholars have argued that the Qur'an and early Muslim scholars
dealt with sex and sexuality openly
and positively. They have argued that the Qur'an recognises human beings as
sexual beings and that although procreation is one of the functions of (heterosexual) sex, sexuality is
also recognised as a intrinsic part of being human. They also point out that
the Qur'an and early Muslim scholars do not see sexuality as
being opposite to spirituality. In short, these scholars believe that Islam is
a religion that views sex and sexuality positively
(Kugle, Yousef Foundation, Hassan, Esack, Anwar).

Some feminist scholars have pointed out that this so-called ‘positive’ or ‘affirmative’ Islamic
approach to sexuality,
is mostly (or only) affirming masculine (heterosexual)
sexual experience (Wadud). For example, they point
out that the Qur'an seemingly talks about male sexuality and
fantasies, without mentioning women and women’s sexuality in an equal way.
For example verses affirming men’s rights to sexual satisfaction, verses allowing
polygamy and verses allowing temporary marriage, as well as certain supposedly
sexual references to the pleasures in paradise. This emphasis on male (hetero-)sexuality is reflected in Muslim laws and the way they
are used in society (Wadud).

Women’s sexuality in
Muslim laws and societies is limited to monogamous heterosexual marriage. This
set form of sexuality is
believed to be preserving a ‘sexual purity’ that is heterosexual and
requires male control over women’s sexuality. In some cases where a woman is
considered to have violated the codes that keep her or her family’s ‘sexual
purity’, her identity or behaviour can and has led to so-called honour crimes
including being subjected to violence, forced marriage and even killed. (See: Honour Crimes Project, Afsaruddin, WLUML, WWHR).

The supposed need for male control of women’s sexuality has
also been used as a justification for male guardianship over women in the family
as well as in Muslim laws and in society in general. (See also ‘Gender (roles) and Islam’).
Many feminist scholars have written extensively about how male notions of female
sexuality lead to the creation of gender-biasedMuslim
laws. Some scholars believe that these male notions include the idea that
female sexuality, if not controlled, could result in social chaos and social
disorder (fitna) (Dunne, Mernissi, Wadud). Some scholars also point out that this male fear
of ‘uncontrolled women’ stems from the time of the newly formed Muslim community,
when men feared that the Prophet Muhammad was encouraging a women’s rebellion
(nushuz) by stopping violence against women (Mernissi (1996)). Nushuz has also
been translated as ‘recalcitrance’ for example when a wife refuses to have
sex with her husband (Wadud, Mernissi).

Although this work challenges gender-bias it is still assuming
that heterosexuality is the norm for everyone. Some scholars have extended
these studies to uncover a heterosexual bias, in the same way that feminist
scholars have uncovered a male bias in Muslim laws (see ‘Frameworks for Progressive
Islam’). These scholars question the assumption that same-sex
sexuality is always an un-Islamic expression of sexuality (see ‘(Male) Homosexuality’ and ‘Same-Sex
Relationships between Women’.) These explorations are still in the initial
phases. They could also be extended to look at bisexuality and polyamory and other forms of sexual and gender diversity
on which little work has been done.

Glossary of Key TermsBiological
sex / Physiological sex: the biological classification of
physiological bodies as male or female usually determined by external
sex organs, internal sex and reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones
and secondary sexual development at puberty. Bodies with an ambiguous
biological sex, i.e. with both male and female characteristics are
sometimes characterised as hermaphrodite or intersex. A person’s
biological sex usually – but not always - corresponds with her/his
gender identity. (See also transgender and gender
dysphoria).

Bisexual(ity): a
category of sexual orientation, referring to person who can experience emotional,
romantic, sexual and/or affectional attraction to persons of both their own
sex and the opposite sex. There are various forms of bisexuality, varying from
being primarily attracted to persons of the same-sex and only occasionally
to persons of the opposite sex (and vice versa) to being equally attracted
to persons from the same sex and the opposite sex.

Gay: A
term used as a synonym to homosexual. The term ‘gay’ is usually
preferred to the term ‘homosexual’ when describing a person’s
sexual orientation, i.e. she or he “is gay”. Sometimes the term
gay is used to describe only male ‘homosexuals’ (see also gay
man).

Gay man: a
man who experiences emotional, romantic, sexual and/or affectional attraction
only, or primarily, to another man or other men. His sexual orientation is
categorised as homosexual.

Gender: refers
to the social and cultural codes used to distinguish between what a particular
society considers ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ qualities,
characteristics, attributes or behaviours. The definition of gender varies
widely and is often the subject of exhaustive debates, although most agree
that gender is largely socially and culturally determined. People are attributed
a social and cultural gender that usually corresponds to their (assumed) biological
sex and they are then expected to behave in accordance with gender roles as
defined by their social and cultural context. Gender can be expressed in physical
appearance, dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social behaviours and interactions.
The attribution of gender to a person by others is a (unconscious) categorisation
of a person as being a man or a woman. A person’s own gender identity,
i.e. their deeply felt (or psychological) sense of being male or female (or
both, neither or other), usually - but not always - corresponds to their biological
sex and to how they express their gender. (See also transgender, transsexual and gender
dysphoria).

Gender
dysphoria: a medical term referring to people who have a compelling
sense that their gender identity is not in conformity with the physiological
or biological sex they are born with. In other words, persons who feel that
they are born in the ‘wrong body’, i.e. biological women who
feel they should have been born as men and vice versa. These persons are
generally referred to as transsexual or transgender.

Gender
equality: refers to people receiving equal opportunities to realise
their full human potential according to their wish, irrespective of gender.
This can for example include equality in opportunities to take part in social,
economic, cultural and political developments and benefiting equally from
the results. It can also refer to the equality in protection of (human) rights.
Gender equality does not necessarily mean ‘identical conditions’ or ‘identical
rights’ as these conditions and rights may in themselves already be
gendered. To achieve gender equality, recognition is needed that current
social, economic, cultural, and political systems are gendered (i.e. constructed
according to gender roles) which lead to women being disadvantaged in all
areas of life (gender bias). This pattern is further affected by other factors
of oppression and inequality such as race, ethnicity, culture, immigration
status, class, age, disability, sexuality, gender identity and/or other status.
Gender equality requires the empowerment of women in their particular contexts,
taking their experiences and perspectives into account.

Gender identity: is a person’s
deeply felt (or psychological) sense of being male or female (or both,
neither or other). A person’s gender identity is the gender to which
a person feels she/he belongs. This usually corresponds to a person’s
biological sex and to how they express their gender. However, some people
have a compelling sense that their gender identity is not in conformity
with their physiological or biological sex or feel and/or express a gender
identity that is other than simply ‘male’ or ‘female’.
These people are usually referred to as transsexual or transgender (see
also gender dysphoria). Gay men, lesbians
and bisexual people are usually content with their gender identity and/or
their biological sex, including those who are not content with their gender
roles. For example those who dress or behave similar to what is socially
and culturally perceived as the opposite gender, such as a woman who behaves
or dresses according to what is perceived to be a ‘masculine’ manner.

Gender
roles: Gender affects how people perceive themselves and others
and how they expect themselves and others to behave, that is, either in a ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ manner.
These gender roles are learned and culturally and socially determined. They
are also affected by factors such as education and economics. Therefore,
gender roles can evolve over time. Gender roles and expectations are often
identified as factors hindering gender equality. In practice gender roles
usually affect women adversely in relation to many aspects of their life,
such as family, socio-economic status, health, life expectation, independence,
freedom and rights (gender bias).

Heterosexual(ity): a
category of sexual orientation, referring to a person who experiences emotional,
romantic, sexual and/or affectional attraction only, or primarily, to (a) person(s)
of the opposite sex. This is also called ‘being straight’.

Homophobia: an
irrational fear of, or hatred against, lesbian, gay and bisexual people and
homosexuality.

Homosexual(ity): a
category of sexual orientation, referring to a person who experiences emotional,
romantic, sexual and/or affectional attraction only, or primarily, to (a) person(s)
of the same sex. Persons with a homosexual orientation are also referred to
as gay (both men and women) or as lesbian (women only). Referring to a person
as (a) ‘homosexual’ is usually avoided as this can be considered
inappropriate or even offensive. The reasons for this are diverse and include
the previous derogatory usage of the term, its medical association and the
fact that ‘homosexual’ and ‘homosexuality’ in most
Muslim societies and cultures refers to certain specific sexual behaviour not
resembling the contemporary ‘Western’ understanding of homosexuality
as a category of sexual orientation. Instead the Safra Project prefers using
the term ‘same-sex sexuality’. In addition, the term homosexual
does not express the diversity of sexualities as it ignores bisexuality nor
is it gender specific. When referring to persons, preference is given to the
statement that someone is ‘lesbian’, ‘gay’ or ‘bisexual’ or
that someone is ‘a lesbian’, ‘a gay man’ or ‘a
bisexual person’. (In plural - LGB people).

Islam: Islam
can mean many different things to different people. Sometimes people talk about
'Islam' when referring to the culture or traditions from a particular country
or from a specific group of people. Sometimes people use the word ‘Islam’ to
refer to the practice of religious rituals and/or to spirituality. People also
use the term 'Islam' to talk about a political viewpoint and sometimes they
are referring to what is known as 'Islamic law' or shari’ah. This body
of rules, norms and laws is itself made up of several schools of thought and
differing individual opinions of Muslim scholars. The Safra Project uses the
term ‘Muslim laws’ to refer to both shari’ah as well as to
modern state laws said to be based on it.

Lesbian: a
woman who experiences emotional, romantic, sexual and/or affectional attraction
only, or primarily, to another woman or other women. Her sexual orientation
is categorised as homosexual.

LGBT(Q)
(people): is the acronym of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender
(and/or queer) (people). It is an inclusive term for identities sometimes
also associated together as ‘sexual minorities’.

Polyamory: This
is a new term that has emerged in the debates about non-monogamy in recent
years. It literally translates into ‘many loves’. Polyamory circumscribes
a particular relationship philosophy that assumes that it is possible (and
indeed desirable) to love many people and to maintain multiple relationships.
Within polyamory there is a strong emphasis on love, intimacy, commitment and
honesty. Some have defined polyamory as ‘responsible non-monogamy’.
Polyfidelity is a concept closely related to polyamory. Polyfidelity is based
on the understanding that the partners in a multiple relationship will be faithful
towards each other, an assumption that is not clearly spelled out or implied
in polyamory. While for some polyfidelity marks a very specific approach to
polyamory (or even one distinct from it), others tend to equate both concepts.

Reformists: scholars
who have sought to challenge classical or fundamentalist interpretations of
the Quran and other sources of Muslim law.

Same-sex
sexuality (& Same-sex relationships): a category of sexual orientation,
referring to a person who experiences emotional, romantic, sexual and/or
affectional attraction only, or primarily, to (a) person(s) of the same sex.
Same-sex relationships are emotional, romantic, sexual and/or affectional
consenting relationship(s) between people of the same sex, that is, between
two women or two men. Same-sex sexuality is sometimes used as a synonym for
homosexuality. However, the Safra Project normally uses the term ‘same-sex
sexuality’ instead of, and/or distinguished from, ‘homosexuality’ as
the notions of homosexuality that exist within most Muslim societies and
cultures do not resemble the contemporary ‘Western’ understanding
of homosexuality. In most Muslim societies and cultures, ‘homosexuality’ refers
to certain specific sexual behaviour rather than to a category of sexual
orientation that includes a wider scope of (sexual) behaviours, feelings
and self-identity.

Sex: can
refer to certain forms of sexual behaviour, i.e. ‘having sex’.
It can also refer to a person’s biological sex, i.e. someone is from
the male sex or the female sex. The term sex is sometimes confused with the
term gender, just like the term biological sex is sometimes confused with gender
identity. The term sex can be distinguished from sexuality and sexual orientation.

Sexual
behaviour: the factual behaviour of a person in relation to her/his
sexuality, either publicly or privately, including - but not limited to – having
intercourse. Sexual behaviour is different to sexual orientation as sexual
behaviour refers to actions whereas sexual orientation (also) refers to feelings
and to self-identity. Persons may or may not express their sexual orientation
in their sexual behaviours.

Sexual
orientation: refers to emotional, romantic, sexual and/or affectional
attraction from one person to another person or persons. Someone’s
sexual orientation is categorised according to the gender(s) or biological
sex of the people he/she has these feelings for, that is, it describes whether
a person is attracted primarily toward people of the same or the opposite
sex, or to both. Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges
from exclusive homosexuality to exclusive heterosexuality and includes various
forms of bisexuality. Sexual orientation is an important part of a person’s
total self-identity: how we see ourselves and how others see us. A person’s
experience and understanding of her/his sexual orientation can vary during
their life. Sexual orientation is different from sexual behaviour because
it refers to feelings and to self-identity, rather than mere actions. Persons
may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviours. Sexual
orientation can be distinguished from other aspects of sexuality such as
biological sex, gender identity and gender roles.

Sexuality
(Sexualities, Sexual diversity): Sexuality refers in its broadest
sense to the quality of being sexual. The term sexuality is also used in
plural, i.e. ‘sexualities’, to reflect the diversity of sexuality,
also known as ‘sexual diversity’. The main aspects of sexuality
are sex, biological or physiological sex, gender, gender identity, gender
roles and sexual orientation.

Shari’ah: A
body of rules, norms and laws according to which Muslims (are supposed to)
live their lives. These rules, norms and laws are found in, and derived from
two main sources: the Qur'an and practices and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
(hadith). The Qur'an and hadith are known as the primary sources of Muslim
law.
Shar’iah was formulated between the eighth and the fourteenth century
AD. In the eight and ninth century AD several Muslim schools of thought (madahibs)
emerged in different geographical locations, deriving legal and religious rules
from the Qur'an and hadith. These schools also formulated (legal) opinions
known as jurisprudence (fiqh), including the assessment of the reliability
of hadith. For situations that were not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an
or hadith, the schools used certain methods of legal reasoning to formulate
rules. These methods include the formulation of a consensus opinion (ijma),
drawing an analogy (qiyas) from an existing rule or law or making a decision
on the basis of (principles of) social justice (maslaha). Differing opinions
between the schools as well as between individual scholars, combined with influences
of local customs and regional differences, caused variations in the rules,
norms and laws within and between the schools. This body of rules, opinions
and laws, is referred to as ‘classical Muslim law’ or shari’ah.
Four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i) and one Shi’a
(Jafari) school remain dominant today.
The process of understanding and formulating legal and religious opinions from
the Qur'an and hadith is known as interpretation (ijtihad).It is believed by
traditional Muslim scholars that somewhere between the tenth and the fourteenth
century ‘the gate of ijtihad’ was closed, preventing new interpretations
of the Qur'an being recognised as shari’ah. Ijtihad was then replaced
by the doctrine of taqlid or imitation of the rules, norms and laws that already
existed. The idea of taqlid has made it difficult for reformists to challenge
the shari’ah and formulate new interpretations of the Qur'an.
Many countries with significant Muslim populations have developed so-called ‘shari’ah
laws’ as state law, particularly in the area of ‘personal status’ or
family laws. These are either based on, or are variations of, the jurisprudence
of one or more of the five schools of thought.
The Safra Project uses the term ‘Muslim laws’ to refer to both
shari’ah as well as current state laws that are said to be based on shari’ah.

Transgender
(Transgender people): Some use transgender/transgender people as
a synonym for transsexual(s) or to refer to persons medically diagnosed with
gender dysphoria. Others use the term ‘transgender’ more widely
to refer to all expressions of gender identity other than simply ‘male’ or ‘female’.
Transgender can vary from a surgical change to someone’s biological
sex (transsexual(ity)) to occasionally dressing in the clothing of the ‘opposite’ gender
(transvestite). A transgender person can also transition - sometimes with
the help of hormone therapy and/or cosmetic surgery - to live in the gender
role of choice, without undergoing or wishing to undergo (complete) surgery.
The term transgender can also include those who identify and/or express themselves
as neither male nor female and/or those born with an ambiguous biological
sex. The International Foundation for Gender Education defines a transgender
person as “someone whose gender display at least sometimes runs contrary
to what other people from the same culture would normally expect” (www.ifge.org).
Female to male (FTM) transgender people are born with female bodies but have
a predominantly male gender identity, male to female (MTF) transgender people
were born with male bodies but have a predominantly female gender identity.
The Safra Project uses the widest possible definition of transgender and
includes those who feel not able to express or display the gender identity
of their choice, for example for fear of negative reactions.

Transsexual(ity): refers
to people who have a compelling sense that their gender identity is not in
conformity with the physiological or biological sex they are born with (see
also: gender dysphoria). This may lead some
to seek gender (or sex) reassignment surgery to make her/his biological or
physiological sex correspond to her/his gender identity. Some people include
under the term transsexual only persons who have already undergone (complete)
gender (or sex) reassignment surgery, others include those who wish to undergo
gender (or sex) reassignment surgery. Some also define the term more widely
and use it partially or completely as a synonym for transgender. As the Safra
Project uses the term transgender in the widest possible sense, it usually
refers only to those having undergone gender (or sex) reassignment surgery
when using the term transsexual but respects the rights of others to self-identify
as transsexual.

Transvestite
(‘Crossdresser’): a person who dresses in the clothing
of the ‘opposite’ gender, either occasionally or always. Generally,
these persons do not wish to alter the biological (or psysiological) sex
of their body.

Queer: a
term often used as a slur in English to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and queer (LGBTQ) persons. The term has been reclaimed by many LGBTQ people,
often in a activist or political context, as an expression of pride in sexual
diversity and variations of gender identity. The word queer has now become
a commonly used term in social science studies and many universities offer
for example courses in Queer Studies.